2017-04 - Reflections

Of all the American cities, none has a more fascinating history than Philadelphia. As the nation's original capital, Philadelphia was a strategic location during the Revolutionary War; the Declaration of Independence was signed here, and Philly is home to the oldest residential street in the United States.

Personally, I find the mix of old and new throughout the city to be captivating. Over time, new glass high rises are becoming intertwined with historic buildings and Philadelphia's iconic row houses. All of which adds to the excitement of exploring this unique urban landscape through the lens of a camera.

My first outing with a new wide angle lens was in Philly during summer. Previous attempts to photograph the reflections of historic Philly in the glassy surfaces of the modern structures failed to adequately capture this interesting juxtaposition. (These early efforts were made with my Sony A7R II with my Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70 mm F4 ZA OSS lens.) So when the FE 12-24mm F4 G wide angle lens arrived, I was eager to try again. When framing these shots, I found the overall moodiness of a cloudy day elevated the shots and made viewer's reaction to them more visceral. Lesson learned - a cloudless day isn't usually a photographer's friend.

These photos are HDR images, merged in Aurora and finished in Lightroom.